Maazel Receives Honors From Office Of NYC Mayor & NY Philharmonic

Lorin Maazel was honored last night by The City of New York and by the New York Philharmonic at the first of his final series of concerts with the Orchestra as Music Director. The French-born American conductor, who first led the Philharmonic at the age of 12, received a Proclamation from the Office of the Mayor designating June 24, 2009, as "Maestro Lorin Maazel Day" in recognition of the conclusion of his seven-year tenure as Philharmonic Music Director. The proclamation, which was announced by Philharmonic Chairman Paul B. Guenther, cited, among other accomplishments, Mr. Maazel's 70 years of critically acclaimed performances in the city; his numerous international tours with the Philharmonic; conducting for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers during Concerts in the Parks; and for "his unparalleled career" that has "brought distinction to him and to every orchestra he has led."

At the concert, Mr. Maazel was also publicly named an Honorary Member of the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York by Mr. Guenther - an honor created in 1843 and one of the highest that the Orchestra bestows, which has been awarded to Franz Liszt, Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, and even U.S President Harry Truman, among others. The honor was awarded to Mr. Maazel, in part, "in recognition of his many accomplishments with the Philharmonic over the last 67 years; his leadership in bringing people together as seen in the groundbreaking concert in Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in February 2008; his moving commemoration of the tragedies of 9/11 by commissioning and conducting John Adams's On the Transmigration of Souls in September 2002 and the concert to re-consecrate Dresden's Frauenkirche in November 2005; and in grateful remembrance of his superb music-making - from his first concert with the Philharmonic at Lewisohn Stadium in 1942 at the age of 12."

In response to the presentations, Mr. Maazel said: "I leave with a tranquil heart and a very happy feeling that our relationship - mine with the New York Philharmonic and theirs with me - has been not only fruitful but on a human level, extremely gratifying for all of us, because we've come to know one other as musicians and we have faced the challenges of making music in this troubled world with success; we have brought our message of peace and beauty to the far corners of the earth. We have shared so much, and I shall leave them with this very, very warm feeling that will sustain me in the years to come when I will no longer have the privilege of being the Music Director of the Orchestra. I am very touched to be a member of the Philharmonic Society in such august company. I do thank the Board, and I thank the Orchestra for having accorded me this honor."
The June 25 concert will be broadcast live on the national, weekly radio program, The New York Philharmonic This Week. [Check local listings] The evening's soloists are sopranos Christine Brewer, Nancy Gustafson, and Jeanine De Bique (Philharmonic debut); mezzo-sopranos Mary Phillips and Nancy Maultsby; tenor Anthony Dean Griffey; bass Wolfgang Schöne; and bass-baritone Jason Grant; with the New York Choral Artists, Joseph Flummerfelt, director; The Dessoff Symphonic Choir, James Bagwell, director; and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Dianne Berkun, director.

These concerts bring to a close the survey of complete Mahler symphonies that Mr. Maazel began in his first season with the Philharmonic. The first five of The Complete Mahler Symphonies, Live are now available for download as live concert recordings on nyphil.org/maazelmahler or from iTunes, Amazon, eMusic.com, InstantEncore.com, HDTracks.com; streaming on ClassicalArchives.com; and other digital music stores. On July 7, Nos. 6-7 and 9-10 will become available. The Symphony No. 8 will be downloadable on August 25.

Lorin Maazel is currently the subject of a multimedia archival exhibition, Lorin Maazel - A Grand Finale, May 18-June 28, on the Grand Promenade of Avery Fisher Hall, which includes a retrospective of Mr. Maazel's Philharmonic career through photos, programs, and interviews. A special Website tribute, available at nyphil.org/maazeltribute has been launched and includes a specially produced video featuring exclusive interview footage and highlights from Mr. Maazel's various Live From Lincoln Center appearances; a slide show of moments from his seven-year tenure; and a timeline that covers his more than 60-year career.

Lorin Maazel, who has led more than 150 orchestras in more than 5,000 opera and concert performances, became Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in September 2002. His appointment came 60 years after his debut with the Orchestra at Lewisohn Stadium, then the Orchestra's summer venue. As Music Director he will have conducted nine World Premiere-New York Philharmonic Commissions, including the Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning On the Transmigration of Souls by John Adams; Stephen Hartke's Symphony No. 3; MeLinda Wagner's Trombone Concerto; and Steven Stucky's Rhapsodies for Orchestra. He has led cycles of works by Brahms, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky, and conducted the Orchestra's inaugural performances in the DG Concerts series - a groundbreaking initiative to offer downloadable New York Philharmonic concerts exclusively on iTunes.

Mr. Maazel has taken the Orchestra on numerous international tours, including the historic visit to Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in February 2008 - the first performance there by an American orchestra. Other recent tours have included Europe 2008 in August-September; Asia 2008 - to Taipei, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing in February; the May 2007 Tour of Europe; the November 2006 visit to Japan and Korea; the Philharmonic Tour of Italy in June 2006, sponsored by Generali; the two-part 75th Anniversary European Tour to thirteen cities in five countries in autumn 2005; and residencies in Cagliari, Sardinia, and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado. In addition to the New York Philharmonic, Mr. Maazel is music director of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain. A frequent conductor on the world's operatic stages, he returned to The Metropolitan Opera in January 2008 for the first time in 45 years to conduct Wagner's Die Walküre.

Prior to his tenure as New York Philharmonic Music Director, Mr. Maazel led more than 100 performances of the Orchestra as a guest conductor. He served as music director of
the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1993-2002), and has held positions as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1988-96); general manager and chief conductor of the Vienna Staatsoper (1982-84); music director of The Cleveland Orchestra (1972-82); and artistic director and chief conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1965-71). He is an honorary member of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, an honorary member of the Vienna Philharmonic, and a Commander of the Legion of Honor of France.

A second-generation American, born in Paris, Mr. Maazel was raised and educated in the United States. He took his first violin lesson at age five, and conducting lesson at seven. Between ages 9 and 15 he conducted most of the major American orchestras. In 1953 he made his European conducting debut in Catania, Italy.

Mr. Maazel is also an accomplished composer. His opera, 1984, received its world premiere on May 3, 2005, at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. It was revived in the 2007-08 season at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and the DVD has been released by Decca.

 

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